$1$5&+,&$/&+(0,676 'LVVLGHQW$QGURJ\Q\LQ$QJOR²$PHULFDQ *RWKLF)LFWLRQIURP*RGZLQWR0HOYLOOH PROEFSCHRIFT

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1 $1$5&+,&$/&+(0,676 'LVVLGHQW$QGURJ\Q\LQ$QJOR²$PHULFDQ *RWKLF)LFWLRQIURP*RGZLQWR0HOYLOOH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus Dr. D.D. Breimer, hoogleraar in de faculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen en die der Geneeskunde, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op donderdag 7 september 2006 klokke uur door Evert Jan van Leeuwen geboren te Den Helder in 1973

2 Promotiecommissie: Promotor: Prof. dr. Th.L. D haen Co-Promotores: Dr. J.C. Kardux Dr. V.M. Tinkler-Villani Referent: Prof. dr. P.D. Giles Overige leden: Prof. dr. R.K.Todd Prof. dr. M.E.H.N. Mout Prof. dr. B. Westerweel

3 Are the traditions of sorcerer and wizard, universal and immemorial as they are, merely fables? Bulwer, =DQRQL Men of letters often show a tendency to care more for pseudo-science than for the genuine article, perhaps because the former, with its uncharted wildness and mystery, has more power to stimulate the imagination. Edward Wagenknecht, (GJDU$OODQ3RH Gender is a constant performance, but its enactment is hemmed in by the general rules of social life, cultural expectations, workplace norms, and laws. Judith Lorber, *HQGHU,QHTXDOLW\

4 &217(176 Abbreviations A-Z Acknowledgements Introduction: New Alchemy and Gothic Fiction 1 3DUW7KHRULHVRIWKH*RWKLF$OFKHP\DQG$QGURJ\Q\ Chapter 1 Transatlantic Transformations: The Status and Cultural Work of Gothic Fiction in Britain and America Chapter 2 The Alchemist: From Medieval Legend to Mad Scientist Chapter 3 Androgyny: From Romantic Misogyny to Alchemical Dissidence 3DUW7\SHVRI$QDUFKLF$OFKHPLVWVDQG)RUPVRI'LVVLGHQW$QGURJ\Q\LQ $QJOR$PHULFDQ*RWKLF)LFWLRQ Chapter 4 Dissident Androgynous Presence and Anarchic Voice in 6W/HRQ, :LHODQG, Morella and Ligeia Chapter 5 Mad Science and Monstrous Androgyny in )UDQNHQVWHLQ, The Birth-Mark, Rappaccini s Daughter and The Bell-Tower Chapter 6 The Anarchic Alchemist as Radical Reformer, Androgyny as Gender Utopia in =DQRQL, 7KH6FDUOHW/HWWHU, and 3LHUUH Conclusion Works Cited Samenvatting (Summary in Dutch) Curriculum Vitae

5 $%%5(9,$7,216$²= $OTXLQD'LDORJXH (Brown) $PHULFDQ1RWHERRNV (Hawthorne) &DOHE:LOOLDPV (Godwin) &D[WRQLDQD (Bulwer) (GJDU+XQWO\ (Brown) (QJODQGDQGWKH(QJOLVK (Bulwer) (QTXLU\&RQFHUQLQJ3ROLWLFDO-XVWLFH (Godwin) (VVD\RQ6HSXOFKUHV (Godwin) (VVD\VDQG5HYLHZV (Poe) )UDQNHQVWHLQShelley) /HWWHUV (Poe) /HWWHUV (Hawthorne) /HWWHUV (Melville) /LYHVRIWKH1HFURPDQFHUV(Godwin) 7KH0DUEOH)DXQ (Hawthorne) 0RVVHVIURPDQ2OG0DQVH (Hawthorne) 1RUWKDQJHU$EEH\ (Austen) 3DXO$UGHQKHLP (Lippard) 7KH3LD]]D7DOHV (Melville) 3LHUUH (Melville) The Rhapsodist (Brown) 6W/HRQ (Godwin) 7KH6FDUOHW/HWWHU (Hawthorne) 7DOHVDQG6NHWFKHV, Vol. 1 (Poe) 7KRXJKWVRQ0DQ (Godwin) 9LQGLFDWLRQRIWKH5LJKWVRI:RPDQ (Wollstonecraft) 9LQGLFDWLRQRIWKH5LJKWVRI0HQ (Wollstonecraft) :LHODQGDQG0HPRLUVRI&DUZLQWKH%LORTXLVW (Brown) =DQRQL (Bulwer) $ $1 &: &$ (+ (( 3- (6 (5 ) 3/ +/ 0/ /1 0) 00 1$ 3$ W/ 6/ : 950 :0& =

6 $&.12:/('*(0(176 Tradition does not allow me to acknowledge my gratitude to the obvious recipients. Fortunately, many others are eligible for an acknowledgement of my gratitude: my parents first and foremost, who guided me through a somewhat troubled and unorthodox secondary education and supported me throughout my studies at university. Also I wish to thank Peter and the late Edward Wiggins for offering me lodgings in Brooklyn for three months. I spent weeks in the New York Public Library devising this PhD dissertation topic. A special notice should go to Susan Donaldson for inspiring conversation; to Monika Elbert and Nancy Tuana for generously sending me their books and essays unavailable on this side of the Atlantic; and to Alan Sinfield, who may not remember, but who sent me encouraging feedback years ago on an essay outlining the theoretical perspective that informs this project. Thanks also to my fellow PhD students, especially Marilyn and Jen at Stirling. Only by sharing the joys and frustrations of writing a PhD dissertation with an international community of fellow PhD strugglers have I been able to finish the manuscript. I should acknowledge a debt to the scholars who were willing to listen to and discuss my ideas at numerous conferences, especially the members of the &KDUOHV%URFNGHQ%URZQ6RFLHW\, whose immense enthusiasm for their work has shown me that doing literature is indeed a great job. Thanks especially to the Waterman family for their hospitality and continued friendship. Thanks also to the staff at the /LEUDU\ &RPSDQ\ RI 3KLODGHOSKLD and the 3HQQV\OYDQLD +LVWRULFDO 6RFLHW\ for being friendly, knowledgeable and extremely helpful during my frantic three-week rummage through their vast collection of materials on Brown, Poe and Lippard. Also I should thank the many students that I taught over the past five years for making my AIO period a mutually learning and socially rewarding experience. I should also thank my cats for being great stress relievers and latenight discussion partners and my friend Richard for driving me from Knebworth House back to Heathrow with two boxes containing Bulwer s complete fictional works in the boot of his car. The most important thank you goes to Martine, who instead of suffering my frequent absences through travelling to conferences and weekends at the office, rightly went off on her own travels to see parts of the world that did not organise conferences on gothic culture. This project would not have been possible without the financial support of Pallas and NWO.